Jane Williams

Jane Durham Wilson Williams was promoted to the Church Triumphant on January 30, 2023 in her home in Mebane, NC.  Jane was born August 5, 1934 in Chapel Hill to the late Grady Watson Durham and Rachel Mae Crawford Durham.  In addition to her parents, Jane is preceded in death by her husband of 23 years, and the father of her children, Benjamin F. Wilson, Jr, and second husband of 30 years, Paul Richard Williams.  She is survived by two daughters, Cindy Wilson Rayno (Don) and Carolyn Wilson; 2 granddaughters, Valerie Engel and Amelia Rayno; 2 brothers Gerry W. Durham (Beverly) and Walter B. Durham (Linda).  Jane attended White Cross School through 8^th grade, then Chapel Hill High School.  Jane and Ben met on a blind date in 1951. Ben was a student at NCSU (then NC State College) and would often hitch hike home on weekends to Mebane, borrow the family car to go see Jane.  After Jane graduated from high school, she attended Croft Business School in Durham and learned bookkeeping and secretarial skills.  She worked for a short time as a secretary at UNC before marrying Ben on December 22, 1953, on the Bride and Groom television show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.  Then Ben, who had been in ROTC at State, served a 2-year term in the army as a second lieutenant.  The newly married couple lived first in Ft. Benning, GA, then Ft. Hood, TX where Cindy was born.  In January 1955, they moved back to NC and lived with Ben’s parents for a year while they built a home nearby.  Jane worked in a bank in those early years.  In 1960, Jane gave birth to a second daughter, Carolyn.  Jane returned to work in 1962 for Field Enterprises Educational Corporation selling World Book Encyclopedias and Childcraft.   In 1969 Ben and Jane started Ben Wilson Construction Company and Jane made a career change to help Ben with his business. Jane did bookkeeping, decorating, ran errands, provided hospitality for clients and employees, and was a great asset in keeping the business running smoothly.  After Ben died in 1976, Jane first worked  as a decorator at Jeffries in Burlington, but soon decided to get her real estate license and spent almost 20 years helping people find just the right home that was both affordable and suited their needs.  She was well-known for her strength, integrity and thoroughness.  In 1978, Jane married Paul Williams.  Paul had six children, some of them still at home when they married.  Between them, they eventually had 13 grandchildren.  Paul and Jane enjoyed entertaining in their lovely home in Mebane.  Jane was a good cook and probably best remembered for her homemade yeast rolls, apple pies and chocolate meringue pies.  She was proudly featured as “Cook of the Month” in the Burlington Times-News in December 2004.  Jane and Paul enjoyed traveling and made trips to New England; the western states of the Dakotas, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arizona; and took cruises to Alaska and Hawaii.  Jane also took a trip to France when Carolyn was studying abroad there.  Jane was a member of Hebron United Methodist Church and found strength to face life’s challenges through her faith in Christ.  For many years, she hosted a non-denominational Bible Study lead by the late Louise Bradley in her home.  Growing up on a farm, she took pride in growing things, from the  loblolly pines on some of her timberland to the flowers in her garden which she generously shared with family, friends and neighbors.  Soon after Paul died, Jane began to show signs of cognitive decline and was eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.  As long as Jane was aware of her condition, she tried do as much for herself as she could.  She remained kind to all, and was dearly loved by her family and all who took care of her.  The family will receive friends at McClure Funeral Home in Mebane from 4-6pm on Friday, February 3^rd.  A funeral service will be held at Hebron United Methodist Church on Saturday, February 4^th at 1 pm.  

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